Visitor orientation as a game changer for the digital transformation of museums

Abstract

ABSTRACT The pandemic crisis has accelerated the process of digital transformation in museums. The introduction of innovations in the area of communication and processes of providing museum services to visitors has practically demonstrated its usefulness. By defining the critical variables of the digital transformation process for museums, we confirmed the hypothesis that visitor orientation mediates the relationship between the communication system and process innovations. Our research was conducted on 200 Polish museums using the SEM methodology. Studying the role of visitor orientation in museums highlights the institution’s mission and relationship with digital transformation. This also contributes to the developing knowledge about game changers and presents a new game-changer in the digital transformation process for cultural institutions. Our considerations align with contingency theory and provide a better understanding of how internal factors (such as visitor orientation) under special external conditions can affect the digital transformation process.